UEFA will split the Europa League final qualifying round into champions and non-champions paths from next season, BBC Sport reports, changing the potential opponents for Scotland’s non-champions representative at the last hurdle before the league phase.
Europa League play-off paths stay separate
The Europa League third qualifying round currently has two paths. According to BBC Sport, those routes then merge for the final stage, when all the teams are placed in one seeded draw.
The reported change keeps the routes separate through the play-off round. For a Scottish non-champions entrant, the relevant comparison is therefore the composition of that path, rather than the combined field used in the current final-round draw.
Scotland’s potential opponents in the non-champions path
BBC Sport reports that the non-champions path includes teams who qualified through their league placing in countries such as Belgium, Turkey, Czech Republic and Greece. Non-champions dropping out of the Champions League can also enter that path.
The BBC assesses the non-champions path as much stronger. That is an assessment of the difficulty presented by the potential opposition, rather than a prediction that Scotland’s representative will lose a particular qualifying tie.
How the Scottish champions’ position differs
There is a separate consequence for Scotland’s title winners. If they drop out of the Champions League and into Europa League qualifying, BBC Sport reports that they will face another team dropping down from the Champions League.
That conditional qualifying route is distinct from Celtic’s position this season. Celtic entered the Champions League at the play-off round, which, according to the BBC, guaranteed a place in the Europa League league phase as their fallback.
Next season, the Scottish champions will enter the Champions League in the second qualifying round and must win three ties to reach its league phase, the BBC reports. That puts the entry stage alongside the play-off split as a key part of the comparison.
For supporters assessing the route, the distinction is between who a club could meet and where its campaign begins. The reported format should not be read as a forecast of specific opponents, seeding or Scottish entrants.